Middlesex County Master Gardeners Open Butterfly House to the Public

On June 1, Rutgers Cooperative Center Extension of Middlesex County invites the public to visit the EARTH Center in Davidson’s Mill Pond Park, 42 Riva Avenue, South Brunswick, NJ, for a day of fun and educational activities.

The Rutgers Master Gardeners will open their Butterfly House on Saturday morning from 10 a.m. – noon and will remain open to the public every Saturday and Sunday in June, July and August. The butterfly house is educational and fun for the entire family. This “hoop house” is filled with plants that feed and shelter butterflies and larvae native to New Jersey. The enclosed conditions allow visitors to take an up-close look at these showy insects and learn more about their host plants and how to attract them to the home garden. Children will be invited to capture more butterflies for the house using nets. There is no charge but donations are welcome.

Also on on June 1, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a garden workshop on beneficial insects. In this lecture, attendees will learn which insects are helpful in the garden by preying on insects harmful to desirable plants. Participants will also learn how to attract “beneficials” to the garden and reduce pesticide use in the landscape. The recognition and use of beneficial insects for pest control is one key concept in the practice of “Integrated Pest Management” or IPM. There is a $15 donation requested for registration to this workshop.

Master Gardeners are trained by Rutgers Cooperative Extension experts to provide advice on horticulture and environmental stewardship to residents of their home county. Various demonstration gardens, including a huge vegetable display garden and a 13 bed hard-scaped herb garden, are also found at the Middlesex County EARTH Center.

Even if you can’t visit the EARTH Center this season, Middlesex County residents can get great gardening tips by calling the Master Gardner Helpline at 732-398-5220. For residents in other counties, find Rutgers Cooperative Extension county Master Gardener information at http://www.njaes.rutgers.edu/county.